The Alternatives

By Caoilinn Hughes

Riverhead Books/PRH

    Four Irish sisters in their thirties reunite to find that their lives, especially their childhoods, were not really how they thought. All four are frighteningly (for all involved), incredibly intelligent and thoughtful. They find that for better, and worse, they do care deeply about each other and find themselves growing closer than they imagined they could.

    This is a smart, warm, funny and ultimately optimistic look at what we think we know and how we can rethink it all without the world coming to an end.

    Don't miss this. You'll love the way it engages with several very different philosophers. 

If you'd like to know more about this book, or purchase it, please check your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org

 James

by Percival Everett

PenguinRandomHouse

    Everything you've heard about this amazing novel is an understatement.  This is more than you can imagine. Fear, adventure, love and warmth, which don't try to mitigate the horrors of slavery in this retelling of Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 

    This should be required reading for everyone.

If you would like to know more about this book, or own it, please try your local independent bookstore or this great place - bookshop.org

 The Ministry of Time

by Kaliane Bradley

Avid Reader Press/S&S

May 7, 2024

    In a near future Britain all sorts of issues arise when several people are brought back from earlier times to this present. Each revived person is assigned a "bridge", a person of this time,  to help them adjust  to the world they now find themselves in.

    Graham Gore is a sailor from the Franklin Expedition of the 1840s (look it up, it's fascinating). He is one of the more grounded of the time travelers, and believes himself ready to face the odd events coming from all sides, and the mysterious administration of The Ministry.

    Philosophy, romance, espionage and more than a bit of humor. A fun read.

If you would like to know more about this book, or own it, please try your local independent bookstore or this great place bookshop.org

 Followed by the Lark

by Helen Humphreys

Macmillan Publishers

    Humphreys researched Henry David Thoreau's letters, diaries and biographies of him to produce this brief but lovely novel of his life. Clearly, nature meant more to him than a life of society. There were people he felt strongly about but they were mainly those who shared his love for and need of a life outdoors. Beautifully written and deeply understanding of a not-simple man.

If you would like to read this book, or own it, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place - bookshop.org .

 The Hunter

by Tana French

PenguinRandomHouse

    This sequel to The Searcher brings back Cal Hooper and his attempts to fit, but not too closely, in the very small village of Ardnakelty. He knows too much about the people here, but is very fond of a few. Trey Reddy is a young teen to whom he's teaching carpentry, and hoping to civilize a bit. When her father returns after a long absence, the entire town is caught up in his dangerous scheming.

    This is another book that I'm hoping is the middle of a trilogy - I want to know what happens now.

If you would like to know more about, or own this book, please check with your local independent bookstore or this great place - bookshop.org